by Chloe Ryder
Honey was puzzled. “A tree sang back to you?” she asked.
Goldie nodded, dipping her head. “The others are still singing to it.”
“A singing tree,” Pippa wondered aloud. It sounded like magic—the sort of magic that might come from a very special horseshoe. “Where’s this tree?” she asked. “Can you take us there?”
Goldie looked uncertain. “I could, but it’s in the very heart of the forest. And my family might be surprised to see you—they’ve never seen a real live girl before. Are you sure you want to make the journey?”
“Yes,” said Pippa. Turning to Stardust, she explained her thinking about the magical horseshoe.
Stardust whinnied with excitement. “We must look at this tree!” she exclaimed. “Please, can you take us there?”
Goldie gracefully sprang down from the branch. “Yes, follow me.”
Chapter 3
The deeper they went into the Cloud Forest, the scarier it became. Sometimes the mist swirled around them so thickly that it was impossible for Pippa to see her own feet. Shivering a little, she wondered what the royal ponies thought about their sudden departure from singing practice. Would they come looking for them if they failed to return?
The ancient trees were enormous, and branches brushed against her like gigantic spiderwebs. But with Goldie leading the way, her horn shining brightly in the gloom, Pippa’s courage came back.
After a while she heard the roar of water. The trees thinned and they came to a huge, raging river of muddy brown water. Goldie stopped on the squishy bank and waited for everyone to catch up.
“We’re not going to cross that, are we?” Stardust asked nervously.
“It’s quite safe if you know how.” Goldie tried to reassure them. “Follow me closely and only put your hooves where I put mine.”
Stardust nudged Pippa’s arm and asked, “Would you like to ride on my back?”
For a second Pippa was tempted, but it wasn’t fair on Stardust to make her carry extra weight. She shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t mind walking.”
“This way,” Goldie said, moving upstream.
She stopped at a slender tree branch that had fallen into the river. Pippa eyed it carefully. The branch only reached halfway across the river.
“There are stepping-stones from the middle to the other side,” Goldie said, easing her concern. She gracefully jumped onto the branch and walked to the middle. “Follow me,” she called.
Honey went first, and Stardust made Pippa go next.
“So I can jump in and rescue you if you slip and fall in,” she said, smiling.
“What if you fall in?” asked Pippa.
“I won’t.”
“Then I won’t either,” Pippa said.
She took a deep breath, then stepped onto the tree branch. It was slippery with spray from the river. Pippa hesitated. Then she remembered a PE class she’d had at school in which the teacher had asked them to walk along a low beam in the gym. “Find something to look at straight ahead,” the teacher had told them. “Focus on that and don’t look down.”
With the teacher’s words ringing in her ears, Pippa inched her way along the branch until she was balanced over the middle of the river. The next part was even scarier because Goldie was expecting her to step down onto a rock in the river. The water roared past with an angry hiss.
“It’s easy,” called Honey, who had already reached the other side.
Carefully, Pippa stepped off the branch and onto the first stepping-stone. She wobbled as she landed, but using her arms, she managed to regain her balance. After that it was simple. The stepping-stones were bigger than she’d thought, and she quickly made it to the other side.
“That was fun,” Stardust said, jumping onto the bank beside her.
The mist was starting to thin out even more. Pippa stared around her, marveling at the beauty of the ancient woodland and the huge trees soaring above her. As Goldie wove through the forest, the singing grew louder. It rang in Pippa’s ears and made her want to dance and skip. Goldie led them on, until she finally reached the biggest tree Pippa had ever seen. It had a tall, redwood trunk that was dented and grooved like a muddy track. Its branches stretched stiffly out with a fan of whispery green leaves. Circling the tree was a herd of tiny unicorns, their golden horns gleaming in the darkness. Their heads were held high and they were singing loudly.
Pippa gulped back tears. The music was so special it made her want to cry.
“Listen,” Stardust whinnied softly. “Can you hear that?”
Pippa nodded. “The tree’s singing back to the unicorns.”
Every line the unicorns sang, the tree sang back to them like an echo.
“Isn’t it marvelous?” Stardust’s face glowed with excitement.
The unicorns clearly loved it too. They sang on, their voices high and pure.
Squinting, Pippa looked up the huge, red tree trunk. She was sure one of the golden horseshoes must be hidden in the branches, but where was it?
Suddenly she noticed that one of the singing unicorns was watching the ponies curiously. Pippa smiled, and the unicorn snorted and looked away. A few seconds later it looked again. Pippa stood very still. The unicorn stared at her; then, breaking the circle, it cautiously trotted over. Pippa caught her breath. In the same way that Goldie and Honey were very similar, so were Stardust and this unicorn. The unicorn planted her hooves in the ground, swishing her snow-white tail as she stared up at Stardust.
“You’re funny,” she said.
“Excuse me?” stammered Stardust.
“Did your horn fall off? You look really silly without it.”
Pippa tried not to laugh. That was just the sort of thing that Stardust often blurted out without meaning to. But Stardust wasn’t laughing. Hanging her head, she pawed at the ground.
“I don’t look silly, do I?” she whispered to Pippa.
“Of course not,” Pippa replied.
“I’m sorry,” the unicorn said quickly. “My name’s Misty and I’m always putting my hoof in it. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
But Stardust was too upset to listen and began trotting away.
“Come back,” Pippa said, hurrying after her. “Just because you don’t look exactly like someone else doesn’t mean you’re funny or strange. It’s not nice to tease others about the way they look, whether they’re people, ponies, or unicorns. But I’m sure Misty didn’t mean to be unkind. We all do things without thinking about the consequences. You know, like laughing at someone when she doesn’t sing very well.”
Stardust started to blush. “I understand,” she said.
Pippa wrapped her arms around Stardust and gave her a big hug. As she pulled away, she noticed something shining in the branches above her. Pippa squinted at the redwood tree. Was she imagining things or . . . ?
“Stardust,” she said, her voice squeaking with excitement, “what do you see up there?”
Stardust looked up to where Pippa was pointing and gasped. “A horseshoe!”
“It’s the fifth one,” Pippa said happily.
The horseshoe was resting on the edge of a huge, messy nest. It was a long way up. Pippa shivered. She was scared of heights, but she’d been learning to overcome her fear during the hunt for Chevalia’s missing horseshoes. The tree looked easy to climb. There were lots of handholds on its rough trunk, and if she stood on Stardust’s back, she could easily reach the lowest branch.
“What have you seen?” Misty asked, joining them.
Pippa quickly explained about the missing horseshoes and how the island of Chevalia couldn’t survive if they weren’t returned to the ancient courtyard wall in time for Midsummer.
“I see,” Misty said doubtfully. “But you’ll have to be careful.”
“Why?” asked Stardust.
“That’s not just any old nest. That nest belongs to a dragonfly.”
Pippa and Stardust stared at each other in horror.
“What do we do now?” a
sked Stardust.
“There’s only one thing we can do,” Pippa said. “We need the horseshoe so I’ll have to climb up and get it.”
Chapter 4
For once Princess Stardust was at a loss for words.
“That’s far too dangerous,” she whinnied at last.
“We don’t have a choice,” Pippa said firmly. “Neither you nor Honey can climb up there.”
“Definitely not,” Honey agreed, anxiously glancing at her sparkly pink hoof gloss.
Worry lines creased Stardust’s snow-white face. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes,” said Pippa. The giant seahorses had brought her to Chevalia to save the island. She was the only human ever to go there. Many of the island ponies had been suspicious of her at first, but now they trusted her and were counting on her—she couldn’t let them down.
Misty raised a hoof to show that the unicorns should pause for a moment in their circling of the tree.
Quickly, before her nerves got the better of her and she changed her mind, Pippa waved at Stardust to move closer. The dragonfly nest looked empty. If she was quick, she could grab the horseshoe before the dragonfly returned.
“Please stand here, under this branch,” Pippa said.
Reluctantly, Stardust stepped forward. “You don’t have to do this—” she began.
“I do,” Pippa said. She made an effort to sound cheerful, and knowing that Stardust was scared for her somehow made her feel braver.
Swinging herself onto the princess pony’s back, she carefully stood up on it. Once Pippa had gotten her balance, she was able to reach up and grab the lowest branch of the tree. The rough bark bit into her hands, but Pippa gripped it tightly as she began to climb up the tree trunk. Before long she had straddled the branch in the same way she would a pony. Relief made her feel light-headed.
“Easy-peasy lemon squeezy,” she called down to Stardust.
“Lemon squeezy? Is that something humans drink?” Stardust asked.
“No,” Pippa said.
“It must be what those elephants drink,” Stardust explained to Honey.
Pippa was too out of breath to explain that it was just a rhyme.
She looked above her. There were only a few more branches to go before she reached the dragonfly nest. She tried to ignore the prickle of fear that was giving her goose bumps. Pulling herself up so that she was standing on the branch, she reached up for the next one. Pippa climbed slowly, checking that each branch could hold her weight before stepping on it. Every time she went higher, she worked out the best places to put her feet before she moved them.
Far below, Stardust and Honey were whinnying encouraging words. And softly in the background, the unicorns sang as they continued to circle the tree. Their lyrical voices gave Pippa courage, and, as the tree echoed their beautiful music, Pippa climbed faster and higher, until she was sitting on the branch directly below the dragonfly’s nest. She was out of breath, and, even though she wanted to keep climbing, she made herself sit still until her heartbeat slowed.
“Are you all right?” called Stardust.
“Yes, thanks,” Pippa shouted, glancing down at her friend.
Immediately she wished she hadn’t looked down. The ground was much farther away than she’d expected. Stardust, Honey, Misty, Goldie, and the circle of unicorns were toy size. No wonder their singing seemed to be fading in comparison to the tree, which was loudly singing back to them. There was a sick feeling in Pippa’s stomach, and she became dizzy. Unable to tear her eyes away from the ground, she realized the unicorns were all staring up at her. It was very scary. All at once it hit Pippa that she hadn’t asked the unicorn herd’s permission to climb their tree, but it was too late to ask now. She wondered if the unicorns realized that it was the horseshoe magic that was making the tree sing back to them. Nervously she wondered what they would say when she removed the horseshoe and the tree stopped singing.
“Well, I’d better get on with it.” Pippa took a deep breath and then sighed. Now that she’d stopped, she’d lost the urge to climb any higher. And she didn’t want to climb back down either. She was tempted to just sit there for a little while.
“No—I can do this,” she said firmly.
Quickly, before she could change her mind, she reached up for the last branch and pulled herself onto it. The nest, huge and untidy, reminded Pippa of the crows’ nests high in the city trees at home. It was filled with four large, green, oval eggs. Pippa saw herself in the shimmering surface of the largest egg. The eggs were beautiful and seemed out of place in the scruffy nest. Pippa’s heart lifted as she saw a sparkle of gold.
“The missing horseshoe!”
It was wedged between the largest egg and the side of the nest. When she leaned forward, the horseshoe was just within her reach. Wrapping one arm around the branch, Pippa stretched out her free hand . . . and froze.
“Oh no!” she gasped.
The eggs were moving. She watched in horror as long, jagged cracks ran across the eggs’ smooth shells. The cracks grew and the eggs began to rock, then to split open. A chunk of shell the size of a marble landed on Pippa’s hand.
“Ouch!”
The shell was hot! Pippa quickly flicked it away. A long, slim leg emerged from one of the eggs. It was soon followed by a second leg. The legs waved in the air. A loud snap startled Pippa, and she clung tightly to the branch as the egg cracked in two. A round head with two huge eyes looked around in surprise. More legs were appearing from the other eggs. Soon there were four heads and eight startled eyes peering out of the nest. The baby dragonflies kicked away the broken shells and slowly unfolded their delicate, tissue-like wings.
“Oh!” Pippa sighed, mesmerized by their beauty.
Each dragonfly had a different hue to its silvery body and wings. The largest was turquoise, the second largest was red, the third had a purple hue, and the smallest was pink. The colors sparkled in the weak rays of sunlight that had managed to filter through the thick canopy of trees.
Without meaning to, Pippa had leaned forward for a better view. A tiny roar, followed by a jet of orangey-red flames, made her jump back in alarm. Snatching at some leaves, Pippa stopped herself from falling. Now all four dragonflies were hissing fire. Pippa’s nose twitched as she breathed in the sharp smell of smoke. To her left, a cluster of leaves was smoldering.
“Thank goodness for the mist,” Pippa said, staring at the blackened leaves. The tree was too damp for it to burst into flames.
Because Pippa had pulled back from the nest, the dragonflies seemed to have forgotten about her and were now competing to see who could produce the longest stream of fire. Slowly Pippa edged closer again. All she had to do was grab the horseshoe while the dragonflies were busy playing. But the nest was too hot and there was no way she could reach the horseshoe without getting scorched. Disappointment almost overwhelmed her. She couldn’t go back empty-handed. There had to be a way of getting the horseshoe! Pippa’s thoughts were tangled like knotted string. Below her the unicorns were still singing. She let her thoughts drift as she listened to their music. Suddenly she had it—the solution to her problem! Trembling with excitement, she leaned out of the tree.
“Unicorns,” she called down, “please can you sing me a lullaby?”
The unicorns stopped singing and stared up at Pippa with blank faces.
“A lullaby,” she called again. “A song for bedtime. Something gentle . . . She trailed off, feeling unnerved by the unicorns’ collective stares.
Then one voice began singing. “Hush, little dragonfly, stop that fire. Listen to the lullaby and you’ll soon tire. Don’t breathe flames, close your eyes. Go to sleep, good dragonflies.”
“That’s it, Misty!” Pippa exclaimed in delight.
Misty stopped singing and the tree began to sing back to her in the same soft tone.
“Now everyone join in,” called Pippa. “Including you, Honey!”
When the tree finished, Misty started again, and this tim
e Goldie and Stardust joined in. Honey opened her mouth, blushed, and quickly closed it. Stardust nudged her encouragingly. Honey looked uncertain but Stardust kept smiling, until at last, Honey joined in too.
Pippa smiled at her. It was good to see that Honey had overcome her fear of singing in public. The lullaby was making Pippa feel sleepy, but the dragonflies weren’t listening. They were having too much fun huffing out streams of fire. Misty, Goldie, Stardust, and Honey sang on.
Pippa joined in with them. “Hush, little dragonfly, stop that fire . . .”
Was it her imagination or were there more voices singing? Snatching a very quick look down, she was thrilled to see that all the unicorns had joined in. Soon their singing and the beautiful echo of the tree began to drown out the roars of the baby dragonflies.
“Listen to the lullaby and you’ll soon tire. . . .” Pippa sang on.
The flames shooting from the nest were slowing down. The littlest dragonfly was swaying as if she could hardly keep her eyes open. As Pippa watched, she settled down with her head tucked under a pretty pink wing. The purplewinged dragonfly was next. Yawning sleepily, he lay down and within seconds he was snoring. The red dragonfly’s head was nodding. Collapsing in the bottom of the nest, she closed her eyes. Only the turquoise dragonfly was left awake, roaring and spitting out red jets of flame. Suddenly he looked around. He seemed surprised to see he was the only baby who still wanted to play. With an angry snort and one last puff of fire, he snuggled down in the nest.
Instantly Pippa reached for the horseshoe. The dragonfly opened an eye and stared at her.
“Hush,” she whispered, staying very still.
The dragonfly flapped his wings halfheartedly. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Pippa grabbed the horseshoe, wedged it in her pocket, and began the long climb back down the tree.
Chapter 5
As Pippa scrambled back down, Stardust positioned herself under the lowest branch.
“Thank you,” said Pippa. It was such a relief to land on Stardust’s back and slide safely to the ground.
